The Internet is a global interconnection of computer networks that share a common set of protocols. Most computers that connect to the Internet use the well-known Transport Control Protocol layer and the Internet Protocol layer for data communication. The combination of the Transport Control Protocol (TCP) and the Internet Protocol (IP) are commonly referred to as TCP/IP. By sharing a set of nonproprietary well-defined data communication protocols, the Internet allows almost any computer system to communicate with any other computer system.
Sets of higher-level application protocols use the TCP/IP layers for lower communication. Some of the better-known Internet application protocols include file transfer protocol (FTP), the network news protocol (NNTP), and the simple mail transport protocol (SMTP) for file transfer, discussion groups, and email, respectively.
One particular Internet application protocol, the HyperText Transport Protocol (HTTP) has become the dominant application protocol. The HyperText Transport Protocol (HTTP) was created for sharing HyperText Markup Language (HTML) documents. HyperText Markup Language (HTML) documents may include rich multi-media elements such as text, images, audio, and video.
The HTTP protocol and the HTML document format enabled the creation of simple to use but media rich documents that could easily be “browsed.” By linking together HTML documents located on various servers throughout the world using embedded hyperlinks, a “World Wide Web” (WWW) of interconnected hypertext documents was created. Due to the simple, yet powerful nature of HTML and HTTP, the World Wide Web (WWW) portion of the Internet has become the most well known form of Internet communication.
The WWW has quickly become a new mass media system for information distribution. New media companies have created thousands of news, sports, entertainment, and special interest web sites. Commercial web sites have also been created to perform financial transactions.
Commercial activity that is performed electronically over a computer network (such as the Internet) is commonly referred to as electronic commerce (“e-commerce”). E-commerce involves a unique set of parameters that distinguish it from ordinary storefront based commerce. With e-commerce, a transaction can take place between a consumer and a merchant that are at distant locations at the time of the transaction. Furthermore, the computers used for electronic commerce may perform a number of functions to facilitate the transaction. For example, the computer systems may be used to search databases for a particular item, determine availability of items, and calculate the cost of items.
The Internet has transformed e-commerce, particularly the retail industry, due to its convenience, reliability and increased security. Internet based commerce has been growing at an exponential rate during the late 1990s. For example, e-commerce sales increased by several hundred percent in 1999.
Despite the enormous popularity and growth in e-commerce, the technology available for e-commerce is still in its infancy. For instance, many of the technologies used today for performing advertising and marketing for e-commerce are relatively crude. Currently, e-commerce consumers primarily encounter passive electronic marketing and advertising in the form of countless banner advertisements (“banner ads”).
These “banner ads” are generally of poor aesthetic quality, offer limited or “teaser” information, and serve only as a “click-on” entry to other web site that feature the advertised product. In addition, banner ads lack reliable measurability. Unless a consumer actually clicks on the banner ad, it is difficult to measure the effectiveness of the advertisement or the extent of the consumer's interaction with the subject product.
Traditional e-commerce advertising and marketing efforts often fail to distinguish companies and their products, due to the speed, volume, and non-interactivity of traditional e-commerce advertisements. Existing electronic marketing methodologies also fail to develop brand imaging. Current e-commerce marketing methodologies also fail to collect useful information regarding consumer habits and to measure advertising responses, likes and dislikes of products, and the effectiveness of advertisements reaching consumers.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for new methods that efficiently and effectively capture consumer attention, and thereby allow e-commerce merchants to effectively advertise and sell their products. Ideally, such methods should generate brand imaging and collect consumer information. The collected behavioral information can then be used to target consumers continually with advertising and products that specifically match their unique interests. Such methods should also ideally entertain consumers to best capture their attention.